As the caravan struggles with nature and treachery, Omari must decide between love and the people's survival in this romantic tale of adventure, destiny and desert magic.

    Though they live by the skin of their teeth they have their health (at least when they can find enough food and avoid the Imperial Labor Gatherers) and each other. When a new exile with no memory of his escape from the coastal cities or even his own name seeks shelter in their camp he brings new dangers with him and secrets about the terrible future that awaits all those who have struggled has to live free of the bonds of the empire’s Machineworks.The Inventor’s Secret is the first book of a YA steampunk series set in an alternate nineteenth-century North America where the Revolutionary War never took place and the British Empire has expanded into a global juggernaut propelled by marvelous and horrible machinery.

    He begins working as a washer of robes at a hotel for itinerant judges. There he meets and falls in love with Prudence, a forensic photographer whose pictures reveal the secrets of the dead.When Prudence disappears, Frank sets out in search of her, a quest that leads him into the shadowy world of a revolutionary salon, then to prison, and finally to discover the city's strange secrets and the secrets of his own heart.A haunting novel that recalls the early work of Paul Auster and Steven Millhauser, The Artist of the Missing is a stunning debut, both a richly imagined evocation of another world and a piercing examination of the mystery of love, and beautifully illustrated by the acclaimed artist Stephen Alcorn.A visionary novel about love, loss, imagination, and despair.

    A time when cities burn, and in their ashes, empires rise.Alexander, Macedonia’s sixteen-year-old heir, is on the brink of discovering his fated role in conquering the known world but finds himself drawn to a newcomer…Katerina must navigate the dark secrets of court life while hiding her own mission: kill the Queen. But she doesn’t account for her first love…Jacob will go to unthinkable lengths to win Katerina, even if it means having to compete for her heart with Hephaestion, a murderer sheltered by the prince.And far across the sea, Zofia, a Persian princess and Alexander’s unmet betrothed, wants to alter her destiny by seeking the famed and deadly Spirit Eaters.Weaving fantasy with the shocking details of real history, New York Times bestselling author of Sex with Kings Eleanor Herman reimagines the greatest emperor the world has ever known, Alexander the Great, in the first book of the Blood of Gods and Royals series.

     Archaeologist Angela Hunter unearths an ancient codex from a Native American burial mound. But how could an illiterate society have produced such complex writing? Seven hundred years ago, a thriving civilization suddenly vanished. As Angela deciphers the mysterious codex symbols, she unravels one of archaeology's greatest mysteries. Despite forces trying to stop her from learning the chronicle's secrets, Angela discovers the horrifying truth. Can she prevent the tragedies of the past from happening again today? If you enjoy action packed archaeology mysteries and thrillers about ancient civilizations, you'll like this archaeology adventure that takes you on a journey in two timelines: the era of the Aztecs & Cahokia Mound Builders and the present with archaeologist Angela Hunter. Fans of Kathy Reichs and Elizabeth Peters will enjoy the strong female characters in Chronicle of the Mound Builders. Interview with the Author Q: Where did you come up with the idea for your novel? A: Living near the mysterious Cahokia Mounds, I always wondered what happened to the Mound Builders who lived there long ago. When I read an article about a newly discovered Mound Builders village right in my hometown, I couldn't wait to explore it. That sparked my idea to write a novel about how the civilization vanished, and center the story around the Aztex codex, a fictitious relic. Q: Have you always been a fan of archaeology? What intrigues you most? A: I love both fiction and nonfiction books about archaeology. It's fascinating how archaeologists solve mysteries through the clues they find and interpret from digs. The Native American cultures in particular interest me. I love learning what their lives were really like. Q: Without giving too much away, can you describe the book's element of mystery? A: The basic mystery is what happened to the Cahokia Mound Builders. Their civilization vanished overnight and no one knows why or how. Chronicle follows the people living in that time period as they move toward their destiny, while archaeologist Angela Hunter tries to solve the mystery in modern times by uncovering clues from a relic: the codex. Q: What do you hope readers take away from your novel? A: I hope readers enjoy the action and adventure while learning about the ancient Aztecs and their culture, such as Aztec sacrifice and the Mexican pyramids, as well as the culture of Cahokia City of the Sun. I hope I've kindled an interest in archaeology, ancient artifacts, and ancient civilizations. Q: How did you learn about archaeology? A: Dr. Meredith Hawkins of Archaeological Research Center of St. Louis graciously showed me around the Dampier Dig site and provided basic instruction on archaeology. Q: If you could be one of your characters, who would you choose? A: Definitely Angela Hunter. She's a strong female protagonist: smart, funny, and courageous, but not perfect. I'd love to be more like her. Q: What are your favorite genres to read? A: I enjoy archaeology mysteries and thrillers, of course. I also read historical fiction, chick lit, and science fiction. Very eclectic! Q: What genre is Chronicle? A: It's mostly archaeology fiction adventure, with elements of mystery and historical fiction.

    What if you killed someone and then fell in love with them?In an alternate Renaissance world, somewhere in an imaginary "pocket" of Europe called the Kingdom of Lethe, Death comes, in the form of a grim Spaniard, to claim his Bride. Until she is found, in a single time-stopping moment all dying stops. There is no relief for the mortally wounded and the terminally ill....Covered in white cobwebs of a thousand snow spiders she lies in the darkness... Her skin is cold as snow... Her eyes frozen... Her gaze, fiercely alive...While kings and emperors send expeditions to search for a suitable Bride for Death, armies of the undead wage an endless war... A black knight roams the forest at the command of his undead father ... Spies and political treacheries abound at the imperial Silver Court.... Murdered lovers find themselves locked in the realm of the living...Look closer — through the cobweb filaments of her hair and along each strand shine stars...And one small village girl, Percy—an unwanted, ungainly middle daughter—is faced with the responsibility of granting her dying grandmother the desperate release she needs.As a result, Percy joins the crowds of other young women of the land in a desperate quest to Death's own mysterious holding in the deepest forests of the North...And everyone is trying to stop her.

    Magic. Revolution.Paris is a labryinth of twisted streets filled with beggars and thieves, revolutionaries and magicians. Camille Durbonne is one of them. She wishes she weren’t...When smallpox kills her parents, Camille must find a way to provide for her younger sister while managing her volatile brother. Relying on magic, Camille painstakingly transforms scraps of metal into money to buy food and medicine they need. But when the coins won’t hold their shape and her brother disappears with the family’s savings, Camille pursues a richer, more dangerous mark: the glittering court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.Using dark magic forbidden by her mother, Camille transforms herself into a baroness and is swept up into life at the Palace of Versailles, where aristocrats both fear and hunger for magic. As she struggles to reconcile her resentment of the rich with the allure of glamour and excess, Camille meets a handsome younge inventor, and begins to believe that love and liberty may both be possible.But magic has its costs, and soon Camille loses control of her secrets. And when revolution erupts, Camille must choose—love or loyalty, democracy or aristocracy, reality of magic—before Paris burns.

    In 1242 in the restive Languedoc region of France, Parsifal, having been charged as a child to guard an important religious relic, has lived in hiding for much of his life until he befriends a young couple on opposite sides of the escalating conflict between the Catholics and the Cathars.

    The wars that are never declared, but are carried out in dark alleys with masks and hidden knives. Wars where color power alters the natural rhythm of 17th century London. And when the king calls for peace, no one listens until he finally calls for death.But what if death finds him first?Keepers think the Igniters caused the plague. Igniters think the Keepers did. But all Thomas knows is that the Stone Plague infecting his eye is spreading. And if he doesn’t do something soon, he’ll be a lifeless statue. So when his Keeper father, Guy Fawkes, invites him to join the Gunpowder Plot—claiming it will put an end to the plague—Thomas is in.The plan: use 36 barrels of gunpowder to blow up the Igniter King.The problem: Doing so will destroy the family of the girl Thomas loves. But backing out of the plot will send his father and the other plotters to the gallows. To save one, Thomas will lose the other.No matter Thomas’s choice, one thing is clear: once the decision is made and the color masks have been put on, there’s no turning back.

    Four soldiers - Justinus, Paternus, Leocadius and Vitalis - are out hunting for food supplies at an outpost of Hadrian's Wall, when the Wall comes under attack. The four find their fort destroyed, their comrades killed, and Paternus is unable to find his wife and son. As they run south to Eboracum, they realize that this is no ordinary border raid. Ranged against the Romans at the edge of the world are four different peoples, and they have banded together under a mysterious leader who wears a silver mask and uses the name Valentinus - man of Valentia, the turbulent area north of the Wall. Faced with questions they are hard-pressed to answer, Leocadius blurts out a story that makes the men Heroes of the Wall. Their lives change not only when Valentinus begins his lethal sweep across Britannia but as soon as Leo's lie is out in the world, growing and changing as it goes. WILL THE WALL BE REBUILT AND THE POWER OF ROME RE-ESTABLISHED? AND WILL OUR FOUR HEROES REACH THE END OF THEIR JOURNEY? 367 AD is one of the critical dates in British history, but the year means little to most people now, and it is only rarely mentioned in historical books. Britannia: Part I - The Wall introduces the reader to this tumultuous age, as we share the adventure, confusion and bewilderment of our heroes - four common soldiers stationed at Hadrian's Wall. We find them caught up in the madness of a chain of events which will eventually lead to the fall of Roman Britain, and the descent into the Dark Ages.

    Spanning from 1839 right through to 1894 the incorrigible Flashman fears all evil and when it comes to voluptuous queens and princesses he has be known to waver from his mission. Filled to the gunnels with escapades of unwavering excitement THE COMPLETE FLASHMAN PAPERS will quench even the most ravenous appetite for Flashman.

    Immediately upon arrival, she heads to Kensington Gardens for a picnic lunch under the shade of a maple tree bearing the initials of some long-forgotten lovers. Exhausted from the long flight to London, she falls asleep and wakes to find herself somehow thrust back in time to 1902. Jonathan Saunders, a wealthy Edwardian businessman, finds her and takes the dazed and confused woman under his wing, introducing her to his family and friends as an American cousin. How can Aurie help but fall in love with this handsome man of a bygone era? And how can she find her way home to her own time? Newly engaged Jonathan Saunders is fascinated by this mysteriously lost and confused American woman and vows to protect her. When Aurie decides to pursue her original plan--touring the British Isles--Jonathan follows her across England and Wales, his fiancee hot on his heels. He knows he can't have it all, but he doesn't want it all. He just wants Aurora.

    It is 1903, and the world is divided between light and shadow. On the side of light is a wondrous science that has transformed everyday life by harnessing magical energies to ingenious new technologies. But each advance of science has come at the expense of shadow—the traditional realm of the supernatural. Now two ancient powers are preparing to strike back. Blood-sucking immortal Nightwalkers and their spellcasting Alchemist allies have a plan to cover the whole world in shadow. All they require is the sacrifice of a certain young woman whose past conceals a dangerous secret. But when they come after Elle, they get more than they bargained for. This enterprising young woman, the daughter of a scientific genius, has reserves of bravery and determination that even she scarcely suspects. Now she is about to meet her match in more ways than one: a handsome yet infuriating Warlock named Hugh Marsh, whose agenda is as suspect as his charms are annoyingly irresistible.

    On the eve of her fifteenth birthday, Claudia is unexpectedly summoned to Rome by the father she hasn't seen in ten years, a wealthy and powerful senator. She finds herself with both a new family and a luxurious new home in the capital of the world's greatest empire. But Claudia soon discovers a contest of power and ambition is secretly being waged - and she is the prize. Torn between two rivals for her hand in marriage, she must choose between her duty and her heart ... a choice that could have deadly consequences. From multi-award-winning author Frances Watts comes a gripping mystery of love and intrigue set in Ancient Rome.

    Desperate for work, she answers an unusual ad. The Durandeau Agency provides its clients with a unique service—the beauty foil. Hire a plain friend and become instantly more attractive. Monsieur Durandeau has made a fortune from wealthy socialites, and when the Countess Dubern needs a companion for her headstrong daughter, Isabelle, Maude is deemed the perfect foil.But Isabelle has no idea her new "friend" is the hired help, and Maude's very existence among the aristocracy hinges on her keeping the truth a secret. Yet the more she learns about Isabelle, the more her loyalty is tested. And the longer her deception continues, the more she has to lose.